


Star Crossed

by magicconchshel



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Decepticon!Jazz, Light Angst, M/M, Secret Relationship, Star-crossed, this is some what based off of the hidden lovers series, u dont have to read that if u dont want to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicconchshel/pseuds/magicconchshel
Summary: After a sustained absence of letters from his Autobot lover, Meister takes matters into his own servos to find out what has happened to him.
Relationships: Jazz/Prowl (Transformers)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been wanting to do a redo of sorts on the Hidden Lovers series. It's an alright series, but Letters was a bit rushed in my opinion. I did not plan it out because I did not expect people to like it so much. This is not the overhaul I planned for that series, but it's pretty close. You do not need to read the original to understand this one btw. Oh, also if you're wondering if how all this came to be, its the same backstory as the work "Interrogated" I wrote a little while back.

It was when Prowl’s letters stopped coming that Meister knew something was wrong. The absence of those soulfully crafted pieces of literature caved a hole in Meister’s chassis. To fill that void, he spent his waking hours pouring over Prowl’s older work. But the suspense was gone; he already knew what these letters said. 

There was, however, the slightest bit of relief. While Meister was always thrilled to receive a new letter from Prowl, he would always go into a frenzy to craft a letter of similar value. Of course, Meister would never achieve the same literary mastery that Prowl possessed. Sometimes, in a feeble attempt to give his letters merit, Meister would include lewd pictures of himself. 

Meister waited and waited for Prowl’s next letter, but it never came. He tried to calm himself by repeating that Prowl was a busy mech. Even though the news said nothing about an Autobot catastrophe, it didn’t mean that Prowl wasn’t tending to one. It wouldn’t be the first time that the Autobots kept a crisis to themselves. 

Time went on. Meister continued his cycle of traveling from city state to city state, a habit he had formed after leaving the Decepticons to avoid capture from either faction. With each passing cycle, Meister’s worry grew. Prowl had never left him hanging this long. 

One night, while Meister was laying alone in his hotel room, he debated in his helm writing Prowl a follow-up letter. He wondered what he would put in the letter. Would he write it as if it was the usual romantic letter? Or would it be more formal? Maybe something inquiring about Prowl’s well being. 

Before Meister could get to writing, he began to think of the worst possible outcomes. The worst, by far, was that Prowl had been killed and the Autobots were waiting for the right time to make his death public. On more than one occasion, Meister had had nightmares about Prowl’s demise. 

The second, that came close in terms of terror, was that Prowl had grown tired of Meister and did not know how to end the relationship. He and Prowl had never talked about a long term future. Meister assumed that it was in fear of one of them not living through the war. It was more likely than he cared to admit. But maybe Meister had misinterpreted that. Maybe Prowl had a plan all along to use Meister for entertainment. He had seen it happen before. Or maybe this was all a part of some covert operation to finally capture Meister once and for all. 

No. No, Meister could not think these things. He believed Prowl was genuine and would never do those things to him. 

Meister waited longer, but the letter never came. In between travel, he drafted a message, writing and rewriting. 

There soon came a time when he realized he would never be able to formulate the perfect letter, and so, he took matters into his own servos. 

His travel plans took a sharp ninety-degree turn and he swung around to Iacon. It was where Prowl was last stationed. On the way, he picked up a couple of things that would be useful to him. A couple mods, guns, ammunition. Not that he planned on using any of it. 

By the time he got to Iacon, his subspace was packed with weapons of mass destruction. But the most powerful weapon of all was Meister himself. 

He passed through Iacon’s walls without issue and breached the Autobot base before the sun rose. When first shift rolled around, Meister was in the ventilation system. He spent the day re-familiarizing himself with Iacon’s base. It was massive. 

For precaution, he checked Prowl’s office, his quarters, rec room, and his colleagues' dwellings to ensure that his lover was nowhere to be found. He was right. 

As he passed by Prowl’s office and room, Meister could not help but stop and admire. There were trinkets on display that he had given to him in the past. Meister wondered if anyone ever commented on them and what Prowl would say. 

When the night shift began, Meister situated himself in a vent above the control room. There was a single mech in there, young and bored, leaning limply against the back of his chair. Meister let the cameras run, let them get a good shot of the mech on duty. Then once he felt the time was right, Meister pulled out a datapad and hacked into the camera footage and let the last thirty kliks run on repeat. Whoever was on security camera duty would not see Meister. 

With that taken care of, Meister slid the grate to the side and leaped down into the control room. There would be no one coming in at this hour and there were no open windows or doors for someone to see him through. 

Now he just had to take care of this mech. He silently approached from behind. At an angle, he was able to better assess the mech, but he did not find this guard to be vigilant. Instead, he was recharging in his chair. 

Meister snorted and took post at the control panel. Using another datapad from his subspace, Meister searched up Prowl’s most recent files and downloaded them. Once finished, Meister climbed back into the vents and replaced the grate.

He sat up there for some time to go over the data. It would not do him any good to leave until he was certain he had gotten all available data on the situation. 

Lying on his front, Meister propped himself up on his elbows and began skimming through. The beginning of the reports seemed normal, a log of times when Prowl checked in and out of his office, putting in long hours, as usual. The logs stopped a few decacycles ago, just after Meister sent his last letter. There was a button that said, “ _ Show More _ ” where the logs stopped. Meister pressed it. 

What appeared was an extensive report detailing the circumstances of Prowl’s disappearance. Prowl had gotten onto a shuttle to Polyhex, but by the time the shuttle made it to its destination, the aircraft was mangled and the crew beaten. Prowl was nowhere to be found. 

The obvious explanation for the disappearance was, of course, Decepticons. Whether it was on purpose or a lucky mistake, Meister could not be certain. 

Prowl had been gone for a while now, and Meister knew that the Autobots were expending resources to get him back. Prowl was far too useful to cast aside, but they were working far too slowly. He could only dream of the horrors Prowl had been subjected to in the time he had been missing. According to this datapad, it had been nearly two decacycles. He would still be online, but in a sorry state.

Meister retrieved the datapad tied to the camera and sub spaced both of them. He decided it would be best to perform another sweep of the base before leaving. It was possible that he would be able to catch an officer’s meeting or someone discussing Prowl’s current status. 

He crawled through the vents with a stealthy silence, zig-zagging his way across the base. The night soon ended and the first shift was upon him again. 

Meister paused above a crowded hallway. It was a busy intersection that mecha used to get to their assigned sectors. He watched the mecha go about their business until a tall blue Praxian model caught his optic. There were not many Praxians serving in the war, many had decided to stay neutral. 

This mech intrigued Meister, and so he decided to follow him. He was walking away from the offices and command center and was headed towards the living quarters. This mech was a larger Praxian frame painted in blue. He did not appear to be a soldier, but most likely worked in a field similar to Prowl’s. Meister wondered if he knew his lover. 

The mech stopped in front of a door and turned to the side to unlock it. Now, Meister could see a side view of him instead of staring at his wings. This mech had geometric engravings on his arm. Engravings like these were common in Praxus. It was typical for mecha of the same lineage to get similar engravings, much like a family crest. 

Meister admired them for a moment, but as the mech disappeared into his quarters, he was hit with a moment of harsh realization. While many Praxian engravings mimicked a general style, this mech’s engravings were a bit too familiar. They were Prowl’s. 

With a burst of renewed energy, he made a ninety-degree angle into the narrowing vent leading into the mech’s quarters. Through the slatted vent in the ceiling, Meister watched him stand in front of a shelf indented into the wall and place datapads on it. He studied the engravings some more until he was certain they were Prowl’s. 

This mech’s arms were larger than Prowl’s, which distorted the engraving a bit, but Meister knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was a match. He had traced his digits over those same engravings too many times to be making guesses. 

Meister waited for the mech to disappear into his personal wash racks before dropping down from the vent. He landed without sound and took position beside the closed door. Meister listened to the sink turn on and off. 

When he emerged, Meister lunged and pinned him to the wall. Despite the drastic size difference, the mech was helpless against Meister. 

“Who the frag-” the mech shouted. 

“ _ Shh _ ,” Meister hissed. 

The mech held his vents and stared at Meister. Although Meister wore a visor, he could feel this mech staring right into his optics. He could tell that this mech would be nothing like Prowl. 

“What’s your name?” Meister asked. 

The mech swallowed. “Smokescreen.”

Meister thought to himself, he knew Prowl had family, but had never heard the name  _ Smokescreen  _ said before. But then again, neither of them spoke much of their personal lives. 

“I’d like to ask you a few questions,” Meister said. 

“Same to you.”

Meister lowered the forearm pressed against Smokescreen’s neck, but still kept his guard. “Do you know Prowl?” he asked. 

“Yeah, do you?”

Meister ignored that question. “Do you know anything about his whereabouts?”

“Of course not. Do you?”

“No, that’s why I’m here.”

Smokescreen looked him up and down. “Ok, but before we continue I’m going to need to know who you are.”

“You first.”

Smokescreen’s brow furrowed. “I already told you.”

“More. How do you know Prowl?”

“I’m his brother.”

That made sense. He knew Prowl had brothers. 

“Who are  _ you _ ?” Smokescreen asked. 

“A friend of his.”

“I’m going to need to see some identification. Do you have an ID chip?”

Meister let go of Smokescreen completely and stood a reasonable distance away. Without taking his optics off of him, Meister pulled an ID chip from his waist belt and handed it to Smokescreen. 

“May I see yours?”

Before Smokescreen could read the information presented, he reached for his own ID chip under Meister’s watchful gaze and handed it to him. The information on Smokescreen’s seemed to be accurate and beyond that, this ID chip wasn’t a fake. 

Fake ID chips were vacant of the metal center and were instead made entirely of plastic. The legitimate ones had a layer of scannable metal, coated by plastic that had the information printed on top. A seasoned mecha would be able to tell the difference between the two, but to the average civilian, the two were identical. 

Smokescreen, it appeared, was not the average civilian. He held the chip on its side and flicked the ridge with his digit. As expected, there was no hardened center that it was supposed to have. Yet, he did not say anything. 

“Jazz, huh?” Smokescreen said.  _ Jazz  _ was Meister’s alias he’d been using to travel from place to place. “Prowl hasn’t mentioned you before.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to.”

“You two aren’t close?”

“We are.”

“I figured,” Smokescreen said. “You’re pretty bent on finding him.”

“I am.”

“Well,” Smokescreen threw his arms up and they exchanged chips. “Ask me any questions you want, but I doubt I’ll be able help. Chances are, I have as much information as you do. Maybe even less, I don’t know.”

“I’d like to know what kind of efforts the Autobots have made to retrieve him.”

“Hm, a great deal, actually. Prowl’s proved his worth to them a number of times, so Command’s pretty upset he was taken. They’ve been wanting to launch an extraction mission, but have no idea where to start. Last I heard, they’re sending in a Special Ops team to infiltrate a database and see if they can get any intel that way. I don’t suppose you have any idea on where we could start to look, do you?”

“I don’t.” 

That was a lie. 

“Shame. You know they took me off the committee of mecha assigned to find him. They said I had too personal of ties to the case. I guess they’re right, but if I’m being honest, I think my personal ties would only help the case. None of those mecha are working as hard as I would be if I was allowed to. I’ll admit, I haven’t seen anyone working as hard as you. I think you’ll be the one to find him, not us, huh?”

“I would hope so.”

Smokescreen nodded. “I can give you my access code to the database if you want it.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Figured. Is there anything else you need from me? Feels right to offer.”

Meister shook his helm. “Not right now.”

“Well, if you need anything in the future, you have my information from the ID chip. Don’t be afraid to contact me.”

Nope, nothing like Prowl.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh, one more thing before you go,” Smokescreen said. “When you find him, could you bring him here, back to Iacon? There are other mecha who would like to see him brought back alive.”

Meister nodded. “I’ll think about it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyheyhey hope u enjoy this chapter

Standing before the Decepticon’s Kaonian database, Meister plugged in his datapad and downloaded their stored files under the POW section. Discarded guards were strewn across the floor behind him. He would have to leave soon. The Decepticons frequently checked in with their guards and if they did not receive a report from them every joor, they would send a supervisor to investigate. 

The download completed and Meister took the datapad and left. He did not loiter in the ventilation system, knowing if he was caught, the consequences would be far more dire than if the Autobots found him. 

He kept the datapad firmly stored in his subspace as he maneuvered through Kaon, onto a transport and out of the city-state. Once in the safety of a hotel room in Stanix, Meister sat on the berth and began to read through the stolen data. It took over a joor of sifting, knocking down firewall after firewall, Meister finally uncovered Prowl’s file. 

As he had originally thought, Prowl was no longer on Cybertron. Instead, he was being kept on one of Cybertron’s moons. This moon had been conquered and turned into Decepticon territory early on in the war. It now functioned as a base dedicated to top secret operations, primarily scientific research. It made sense to keep Prowl there. The Autobots would have a Pit of a time retrieving him. 

There was no data on Prowl’s current physical or mental status. Meister was almost thankful for it. He did not need any more motivation to move as quickly as possible.

From there, he packed his things and caught another transport out of Stanix and headed for Polyhex. It was an Autobot run city-state, but it was the closest non-Decepticon territory that he could launch out of. If he were to launch from a Decepticon city-state, he would be more likely to be recognized. 

Upon arrival at Polyhex, Meister did not book a hotel room, but instead traveled straight to the nearest dealership. As the dealership neared, Meister studied the different spacecraft models. Inside he would ask an employee which one suited him best, but he knew he needed a small, but fast one. 

When he got inside, he went up to the front desk and filled out a questionnaire that would tell the staff what he was looking for. Amongst the list of questions, Meister checked  _ 2 _ next to number of occupants and wrote in  _ spacious  _ under the interior section. Under the motor section, Meister picked out the fastest specs he knew of and handed the form back to the receptionist. 

He waited in the lobby until an employee came out to talk to him. The mech motioned for him to follow him out the back entrance to their lot of spacecrafts. They walked along the aisle, the salesmech cheerfully asking him more questions on what he wanted in a ship. 

There was a time when these lots would have been filled exclusively with civilian-appropriate models. The majority of these ships were made for civilians, but there were also models with battle-ready features. For example, Meister spotted more than one stealth ship and another few with canons on the side. If this mech had any sales expertise at all, he would know to show Meister one of those. 

The mech led him to a small stealth ship and activated the docking ramp for them to step inside. Meister went inside first and was greeted by the automatic ceiling light. The ship had a rounded control panel and broad front window, unobstructed by seams. There were two seats up front, a captain’s chair and co captain’s chair. That would work well for their needs. 

“Shall we take a look at the living quarters?” the mech asked. 

Meister nodded and followed him to the back half of the ship. There was a small room with a kitchenette and fold-out table. The salesmech informed Meister that this model came equipped with its own energon cubes, among other things. 

There was a single mecha shower with towels and tiny servings of soaps. Next to that, there was the berth room. Meister was told that this model was equipped with either one large berth or two bunks. He figured the one berth would suit them just fine. 

At the end of the tour, the salesmech asked him what he thought of the ship. Meister thought about it for a moment. It would suffice. Since he did not have access to a land or ground bridge, the trip would take just under three cycles if he were to use this model. Meister didn’t exactly have all cycle to tour spacecrafts with this mech. They shook on the deal and Meister was gone with the ship just a joor later. 

* * *

Over the duration of his trip to the moon, Meister didn’t think he could be any more bored. It had been awhile since his last mission so this extraction had him on his toes. His circuits were practically singing with sheer anticipation. 

Meister had been to the moon base before. He had acted as a guard to Shockwave and had gained substantial knowledge of the base’s layout. 

When he came into orbit, Meister took the ship off autopilot and directed it to descend a ways from the base. Before approaching the moon, Meister had equipped the ship with cloaking technology he had acquired from the same mecha who gave him his frame mods. The stealth equipment the ship came with was alright, but not as good as what Meister had access to. Not even Shockwave would be able to detect him. 

From there, he remained low to the ground and steered the ship closer to the base. The energon warehouse was right in front of him now. It would be the best place to park. Most bases had large teams of soldiers guarding their energon reserves. This one was one of the few that did not. This base had other, more important, things to be guarding. 

Meister disembarked from his ship, leaving it on idle in case he needed to make a quick getaway. There was a door open just around the corner for incoming deliveries that Meister used to breach the base. He climbed atop of a stack of compacted energon and climbed into the vents. 

Now able to move faster, Meister got to work on the first step of extraction. He moved around to different parts of the base and located important and dangerous personnel, the most important being Shockwave. 

With Shockwave and other high ranking personnel accounted for, Meister descended into the bowels of the base where important cargo was stored. There were rooms filled with machinery and extra reserves of energon. Meister spotted ships and tanks and weapons, all of which models he had never seen, but shivered at the thought of them being used in combat. Other than that, the base was relatively barren. 

At the very bottom of the base, deep in the ground, there was a cell with a single mech in it. There were no guards in the room and no vents or windows. The only opening was the door which was sealed with multiple locks spread across the seam. 

Meister could go no further once he reached the hallways leading to the room. All vents came to a deadend. He knew Prowl had to be in there. 

There were two guards at Prowl’s door and another two at the interaction at the front of the hallway. Before doing anything, Meister tampered with the cameras, much like what he did at the Autobot base.

Without ever leaving the ventilation system, Meister took the grate from the vent opening nearest to the door and traveled to the intersection where the first two guards were posted. A ways away from them, he turned a corner, opened another grate and threw the original down the corridor. 

The guards exchanged glances, and just as Meister predicted, one left their post to investigate the source of the noise. Meister waited for him on the ground and when he rounded the corner, grabbed him by the helm and jerked it to the side. He fell without a sound. 

Meister waited for the other to come looking for his comrade and did the same to him when he appeared. With them out of the way, Meister strolled into the narrower hallway that would take him to Prowl. 

The guards noticed him as soon as the door opened and readied their weapons. Meister ducked behind the wall and readied his knives. When he turned back around, the guards did not have a chance to fire their weapons. Meister had already thrown both knives and made contact with their throats. They fell to the ground in a heap of their own energon. 

Meister stepped over their forgotten frames and into Prowl’s cell. There was a thin walkway in between the door and bars. Behind the bars, Prowl sat limply on the floor. He was unresponsive to Meister’s appearance, limbs were slack against his frame and paint chipped and oozing energon in certain areas. He looked drugged. This was not the worst Meister had ever seen a mech in captivity, not even close, but it was the worst he had ever seen Prowl. 

There was a control panel next to the entrance that Meister used to deactivate the bars. Then he crossed the threshold and knelt next to Prowl. 

He did not flinch at his touch and did not withdraw when Meister pulled him away from the wall and against his frame. Prowl was heavily drugged, there was no doubt, but Meister could not be sure what concoction exactly he had been fed. Shockwave would not risk harming him too badly to avoid deactivation. He was likely roughed up by the guards, then strapped to a computer where they poked around in his processor. Meister hoped they didn’t go too deep. 

Prowl was strutless as Meister hoisted him into his arms. He was not particularly bulky or heavy, so Meister was confident he would be able to haul him through the base. 

Meister rose to his pedes and began walking. Surely by now, someone would have checked in on the guards or had seen the frames and would have alerted the rest of the base. He would have to be swift. 

Meister had a series of grenades lined up on his belt along with a pistol. He needed to avoid any close contact with the enemy if he and Prowl were going to make it out of here. 

He paused behind a wall before going any further and peeked out for a klik to throw a grenade, using the wall to help take some of Prowl’s weight. Once it exploded, he kept moving. 

The grenade would have knocked out any guards and cameras in their way. The walls around them were now dented and scratched. 

Ahead of them, Meister heard a group of guards conspiring. He backpedaled and turned and threw another grenade in the opposite direction of where he was going. There were shouts and the guards cleared the area to examine the commotion. 

Now they were nearly free. As Meister entered the energon warehouse, he threw one last grenade behind him to slow down anyone on their tail and made a dash for the ship. 

The ramp extended as they neared and Meister ducked his helm to make it in the door as it opened. There was no medical berth to strap Prowl into so Meister settled for seating him in the plush co-captain’s chair while he prepared for take-off. 

Meister, however, did not immediately take his seat next to Prowl. Instead, he took a grenade from his belt, one that was pre-set to go off after a timer, and threw it out the door and into the warehouse. 

With that taken care of, Meister resumed his position in the captain’s chair and steered them away from the base. Once at a safe distance, they lifted from the ground and away from the moon. 

Far below them, there was a great explosion. Pieces of charred metal flew above the carnage and mecha scattered to find shelter. 

Meister put the ship on autopilot and went to stand next to Prowl. He laid a servo on Prowl’s forehelm. He was cold, colder than he should be. Meister was not worried, he knew Prowl had not lost a dangerous amount of energon There were no large wounds he could be leaking from. 

He had seen this before. It was a common tactic to drug a captive in such a way that made their systems slow. It would make escape almost impossible. That, on top of fuel deprivation, would make Prowl lethargic and unresponsive. 

Knowing he could not treat him here he sat, Meister picked him up and took him to the back room. There, he laid him out on the berth stripped of its bedding. The ship had come with a first aid kit. It would suffice for now. If Prowl needed legitimate medical attention, he could increase the thrusters and get them to Cybertron sooner. 

Meister sat cross legged next to him on the berth and cracked open the case to see what was inside. There was a small servo-held welder, patches, a crimp for any severed lines, a can of pressurized air to clean out any crevices, spare wiring, a suction for dents, and a dosage of medical-grade energon. 

He got to work on sealing the cuts and putting patches over the ones that were larger. His work was not perfect, but he had received basic medical training before and knew the basics. He moved on to the dents, using the suction to smooth them out. From there, Prowl started to look a little bit better. 

The medical energon would be given to him later. As of right now, Meister was not certain if he was capable of swallowing. He would wait until the drugs wore off and then would give it to him. 

Meister cleaned up the remaining medical supplies and shoved what was left back into the case. He left Prowl alone on the berth, laying a blanket on top of him before heading back to the control center. It would not be best for him to recharge next to Prowl right now. He might jostle him and hurt him further. 

While Prowl slept, Meister sat reclined in the captain’s chair, watching the stars go by as they neared Cybertron. 

* * *

Prowl awoke the cycle after they launched. Meister was watching the control panel when he came limping out of the berthroom. He leaned against the wall and muttered a small greeting to make himself known. Meister stood and ran to him. 

They embraced in a hug. Prowl released his grip on the wall and let Meister support his weight. 

“I missed you,” Meister said. 

“I missed you too,” Prowl replied. 

Meister pulled back and motioned for him to get back to the berthroom. Once inside, Prowl sat on the edge of the berth and allowed Meister to drape a blanket over his shoulders and wings.

“Are you cold?” he asked. 

“Yeah.”

“It’s probably the drugs they had you on.”

“They drugged me?”

“I can’t be sure,” Meister said. “But I’m fairly certain. They do it to a lot of prisoners. It’s nothing life-threatening, don’t worry.”

Prowl pulled the blanket closer to his frame while Meister briefly exited the room. He returned with a cube of energon. 

“Here, this’ll help.”

Prowl took it from him and began drinking.

“Do you remember what happened?” Meister asked. He took a seat next to Prowl. 

“I believe so. I remember my capture and parts of my stay. I think Shockwave went through my processor.”

“I bet he did.”

“I hope he didn’t get anything of value. I have firewalls built in to guard any truly valuable information, but knowing him, I’m sure he’s capable of bypassing those.”

Meister shrugged and sighed. “I know. Let’s not think about that though, yeah? Did they do anything else to you while you were in there. Like, beat you and fix you up real quick or something. Sometimes when they fix someone up, they don't always use the best parts or tools."

Prowl thought about it for a moment and for a second, Meister regretted asking the question. “I don’t think so. I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t feel like it. I feel fine.”

Meister stood. “Good. I set our coordinates to Iacon, we’ll be there soon. You should try to recharge in the meantime.”

“Where are you going?” Prowl asked as Meister moved towards the door.

“Control room.”

“Will you stay in here?” Prowl asked. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

Meister almost smiled. “Sure, guess I could take a break.”

* * *

Later that evening, when the ship had automatically dimmed its lights to simulate the night cycle, Meister and Prowl sat side by side at the controls. The glass was expansive in front of them, showing every star and the faintest outline of Cybertron.

Next to Meister, Prowl was hunched over himself, blanket draped over his shoulders and wings. The blue from the screen's light made his faceplates glow.  __ It was a rarity that Prowl ever looked this peaceful. 

“When will we arrive at Cybertron?” Prowl asked. 

“‘Bout two cycles.”

Prowl took a sip from his cube that he held in between both servos. His optics did not move. 

“Is there any way to slow the ship down?” he asked. 

“Huh?”

“Can we slow the ship? Make the trip longer?”

“You don’t wanna go back home?”

“I do. But we never get to spend time together like this. This might be the first time we’ve ever been truly alone. I thought it might be best to take advantage of it. Unless you have obligations on Cybertron.”

Meister shook his helm. “No, no, I don’t. I just—I know how important your work is to you. And don’t you need to see a medic, or something?”

“Eventually, but I’m not in dire need of medical attention. And the Autobots have managed without me for—what—two decacycles now? Three? They’ll be fine for a few more cycles. And you just saved them a good amount of effort by extracting me yourself. They owe you.”

“No, the Autobots don’t owe me anything. Not after all the trouble I’ve caused. But if you want, I can slow the ship, make it drift a little. It’ll save us some fuel and buy us some time.”

Prowl nodded. “Do that then. Just a few more cycles.”

Meister leaned forward and pressed a few buttons on the screen. Prowl felt the vibrations on his pedes from the engine as it lessened its strain. There was a gentle pull as the ship slowed itself. 

“There,” Meister said. 

“Thank you,” Prowl said. “I can’t guarantee that this vacation will be anything exciting. I just hope it’s enjoyable.”

“With you, it will be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gotta say, i am so happy with the response from the first chapter. i love reading all ur comments, thank u for the support and Im enjoying writing this so expect another quick update! (Maybe)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, hey, hope i enjoy this (its the last chapter btw)

Sharing a ship with Prowl was far better than sharing a hotel suite or his Iaconian quarters, Meister found. Whenever they were in a hotel room on Cybertron, it was usually surrounded by Autobot security to ensure Prowl’s safety, as if he needed it with Mesiter there. Meister was never able to travel or act freely, being forced to stay in the confines of the room for the duration of the stay after sneaking in. The same went for Prowl’s quarters in Iacon, though Meister rarely visited him there. 

Here, they did not have to worry about any windows or cameras revealing Meister’s presence. He would never admit it, but Meister yearned they would one day become a bonded pair and not a cross-factional love affair. 

When he heard Prowl call his name from across the shuttle or when Prowl brought him energon or showered with him or recharged next to him, it was hard not to become too attached to that fantasy. 

There was nothing new about the things they were doing together. Meister did not know why he was so entangled with this new environment. Could it be the illusion of stability that this change of scenery offered? The privacy? The escape?

It was a possibility. Prowl was, by far, the best and only long term relationship Meister had ever had. All of Meister’s past relationships included only interfacing, with the occasional bought of murder if an assignment called for it. Prowl was something entirely new. 

There was a moment a while back where Meister realized that this relationship could become something more. Meister had agreed to meet Prowl in a hotel while he was away on business. As usual, they interfaced for the better part of the night. But a ways through their tryst, late at night, Prowl laid behind Meister, both on their sides, and spiked him. This, by itself, was not unusual. But when Prowl wrapped his arms around Meister, restraining him, he knew that this was something monumental. 

Meister had had partners try to grab him or hug him during interfacing. He didn’t always let them do it. But when Prowl did it, there was something there. Something Meister could not place. 

He leaned into it. His helm fell back and Prowl bit his neck and moaned. The heat in Meister’s torso turned into a wildfire as his servos found Prowl’s. Neither let go until both had finished. 

From then on, Meister looked forward to the times where Prowl latched onto him during interfacing. He had not yet figured out a way to tell Prowl how much he enjoyed it. Meister had never been good with his words. 

Despite being on ‘vacation’, Prowl still rose early. There was no issue with it, other than the fact that Meister was awoken whenever jostled in the slightest. His frustration was sated when Prowl came back to the berth with two cubes and would hand one to Meister. 

Meister could not get over how well Prowl appeared to be handling his capture. Usually, mecha could not bare to go outside or be seen by others for decacycles after. Maybe it was the secluded environment they were in, but Prowl was acting as if nothing happened. Sure, he would sometimes groan at his sore plating or would flinch when Meister touched him without warning, but other than that, he fell right back into his normal routine. 

A few times, Meister had tried to probe the situation, asking indirect questions on what went on in captivity or how he was feeling. 

One night, when buffing out scratches on his plating, Meister asked, “They didn’t handle you all that well, did they?”

“No,” Prowl said. He shrugged. “But what could I expect?”

From that angle, where Meister sat behind Prowl, he could not see his facial expression. He assumed it was neutral. There were only a few things that would make Prowl falter. 

Meister decided that he would leave it alone for now. If Prowl wanted to, he would talk about it. 

It was strange how the ride to the moon was unbearable in comparison to the ride back. The answer was obvious; it was Prowl’s doing. But it was marvelous how the change of a single component could alter such a thing so drastically. 

The ship was barren of almost anything entertaining. Prowl, not being one to routinely seek out excitement, was able to function well. Meister, on the other hand, was itching for stimulation by the second cycle. 

While he greatly cherished his time with Prowl and was thankful for the privacy the shuttle provided, he wished he had picked up a datapad or two to keep them occupied. Maybe something with holovids on it. 

They spent most of their cycles talking. Meister didn’t have a problem with that, he loved to talk. When they weren’t talking, they were either sleeping or tending to Prowl’s injuries. He was healing well, but whatever drugs he had been given were stubborn to leave his frame. The withdrawal from what he was on mimicked virus-like symptoms. 

He was still cold. Meister had turned up the temperature as high as he could without burning too much fuel. Even then, it was not enough. Prowl wore a blanket around the ship more often than not. 

It made him want to stay in the berth for more than just the night cycle. His joints ached whenever he stood or walked for too long, not that there was anywhere to go. 

And while Meister yearned endlessly for something to do or somewhere to go, when Prowl let him lay on his lap while he napped, he realized there was nowhere else he would rather be. 

* * *

“What will we do once we get back to Cybertron?” Prowl asked. 

From where Meister laid, there was a window on the wall in front of him. He could see the stars passing slowly. 

“We’ll dock in Iacon,” Meister replied. “Then we can catch you a transport to base and we’ll part from there.”

“Where will you be? While I’m in Iacon.”

“I’ll probably hop back in the ship and get away for a while. I’m sure the Autobots will start looking for me after you tell them what happened. The Decepticons probably are already.”

“I won’t tell them if you don’t want me to.”

“Nah, you can tell them. It won’t do anyone any good to lie about this.”

“Where will you go?”

Meister thought about it for a moment. “I’m not sure.”

He would have to get away from Iacon, he knew that. He would be forced to give the docking sight the ship’s vin number and the Autobots would no doubt seize the information and the ship. Maybe he should ditch the ship altogether. 

“You can come with me to Iacon’s base,” Prowl said. “I don’t mind. You can hide out from the Decepticons there. Once we explain what happened, the Autobots will provide you with protection.”

Ah, there it was. This was where Prowl would struggle after being in captivity. He couldn’t be alone. 

“You want me to go with you.”

“I won’t ask you to, but I’m offering.”

“You sure they won’t take me to the brig or anything?”

“I can make sure they won’t.”

“How?”

“I’m an officer, they’ll listen to me.”

“You’ll vouch for me?”

“Of course.”

“They won’t believe you.”

“They will.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I’ll resign.”

Meister wanted to turn around and start shaking him. “You can’t.”

“I can. They can’t force me to serve.”

“Yeah, but you have a family and you need protection. If the Decepticons get word that you left, they’ll come after you.”

“Would you come with me if I left?”

“Of course.”

“Then I wouldn’t have to worry about the Decepticons, would I?”   
  


“That’s not the point.”

“The point is that I’m inviting you to stay with me in Iacon. Do you accept?”

“Of course, but if they restrain me, I’ll be pissed.”

Prowl’s arms wrapped tighter around Meister. His frame relaxed as Prowl tightened around him and leaned down to press a kiss to the side of his helm. 

“That’s fair,” he said. 

* * *

Prowl had done his best to make himself appear presentable before they docked in Iacon. They were unable to receive any radio news channels while in orbit and were unaware if the Autobots had made his disappearance public yet. Regardless, it would be best for the both of them to lay low for the time being. 

Meister paid the slip rate and they left the docks. Neither had anything of importance on the ship and traveled lightly until they caught the nearest transport. 

Upon entering the transport, Prowl typed in the approximate address on the display screen  and let the transport whisk them away. They spoke little during the ride. 

The transport dropped them off a block away from the base’s entrance. Not many mecha were frequenting during this time. There were no shops in this part of Iacon. Many of the surrounding buildings were for industrial use or storage. 

“Do you still have your ID card?” Meister asked as they walked to the entrance. 

“No, they took it when I was captured. But the guards will recognize me.”

When they arrived, Meister found that Prowl was right. Not only that, but the guards had been briefed on the situation.

The moment Prowl came into view, the security team exchanged frantic glances between each other. And when they came into audial range, they stood tall, backs straight and legs together, and saluted. They addressed Prowl as  _ Sir _ and used a voice with a firm rigidness. Meister could not remember the last time he had felt intimidation of this sort. 

* * *

Ratchet was in a light recharge when he got the ping from First Aid. The security team on duty had alerted the medical staff that Prowl was found on the premises. He, along with an undisclosed mech, had turned up at the gates. Quite literally, a package left on their doorstep. 

He knew better than to question it. He’d seen weirder. 

Ratchet was not scheduled to be on shift at that time, he was trying to catch a couple joors of recharge before the night shift, but was on call in the event of an emergency. This was not an emergency, by the sound of it, but was something that required his attention. 

So he hauled himself out of berth and hurried to the med bay. By the time he got there, First Aid had already placed them in a private room and was monitoring Prowl’s vitals. 

His friend was sitting beside him. Ratchet did not recognize him. Upon first glance, he knew that this mech was not a neutral, nor an Autobot. His frame was obviously made for combat, but he had never seen these mods allowed among Autobot soldiers. 

Ratchet shrugged it off and entered the room fully. He extended a servo to the mech and introduced himself. The mech took his servo in his own and even behind the visor, Ratchet could tell he would not meet his optics. 

He turned to Prowl who waited on the medical berth. “What’s the damage?” he asked First Aid. 

“Nothing too severe, thankfully,” First Aid replied. “I’m detecting some mild sedatives lingering in his systems, but other than that, I don’t have too many other concerns.”

Ratchet looked over his shoulder to take a look at the readouts. Other than obvious signs of sedation and fatigue, Prowl appeared to be recovering well. It was a relief. When Ratchet had gotten the ping that he had been found, he feared Prowl would be half offline by the time he got to him like most other mechs who had escaped Decepticon captivity. This truly was a best case scenario. 

“Looks like I won’t have to do much in terms of repair. I will, however, be putting you under for an anti-virus screening.” Ratchet’s voice dropped its casual nature. “Do you suspect that your processor was tampered with?”

“It is possible. There are chunks of my captivity I do not remember. Shockwave was there.”

Ratchet touched his chin. “Hm. In that case I’ll be dropping you into stasis now rather than later. Your friend can stay, but I will be obligated to let Command know he’s here.”

“That’s alright. I ask that neither of us are questioned until I wake. Will that be doable?”

“It will be, but I can’t protect you forever.”

“I don’t mind.”

Prowl leaned back on the medical berth and Ratchet came up next to him and began typing at the terminal. 

“Expect this to take a few joors. It’ll be thorough,” Ratchet said. 

“Good. Will you notify my brothers of my return?”

“Of course.”

Ratchet activated stasis and his patient’s frame relaxed until his optics finally closed. Beside Prowl, across from Ratchet, Meister sat in his chair, staring almost longingly at Prowl. 

* * *

Smokescreen gave a nod of understanding as he read through the report. It had been dropped on his desk just kliks ago. Prowl had been found. 

He smiled when he read the first paragraph. His sudden appearance was a little alarming. He appeared at the entryway of the base? A bit strange, but he could watch the security footage later. 

The rest of Ratchet’s report detailed vaguely the injuries he had sustained. It was very little and it made Smokescreen wonder if he should be worried. If the Decepticons did not use physical torture, they likely resorted to processor manipulation. 

Smokescreen shook it off and continued reading. He smiled again at the line, “ _ Prowl did not appear alone. _ ”

_ Jazz _ , or whoever he was, had succeeded. 

He had to give it to him. For a second there, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it. Five cycles after seeing Meister, he began to get antsy again. He paced around his quarters, thinking that  _ surely  _ he should have been back by now. Unless he’d been captured too, then Smokescreen would have to go after both of them because this pit forsaken rescue team wasn’t making any progress. 

This mech in the report was not referred to as  _ Jazz _ , instead he was  _ Meister _ . Ratchet explained briefly his first meeting with the mech and described his general demeanour.  _ Calm and collected _ . It was a whole lot better than Smokescreen’s first meeting with him. 

But  _ Meister _ . Meister. A Decepticon bounty hunter. He had gone missing a little while back. The Autobots had gone searching for him, but all efforts came up inconclusive. The mech dropped off the face of the planet. Many hypothesized Megatron had either had him killed or he’d fled Cybertron. Or he was on an undercover mission, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself. No one had ever seen Meister, he could be anywhere. Smokescreen didn’t want to think about the last one. 

If Jazz and Meister were the same mech, which Smokescreen was nearly certain they were, then they had a highly coveted Decepticon assassin sitting in their base. 

He commed. Ratchet. After a klik of waiting, he answered. 

“Yes?”

“Meister’s in with Prowl?” Smokescreen said. 

“He is.”

“Has anyone said anything, like,  _ negative _ ?”

“Of course. Ever since I sent that report out, I’ve been receiving pings from everyone on the Chain of Command. I didn’t expect you to be one of the ones to raise concern.”

Ratchet had a point. After all this time, both of them were jaded. Ratchet more than he, being the older one. Situations that would send their peers into a frenzy often went right over their helms. It was part of their job description to stay calm in the optics of chaos. 

“I wouldn’t say concern is the right word. I’m not concerned for Prowl, at least. I’m concerned for Meister. They’ll kill him.”

“I know. Prowl asked that I leave them for the time being. I don’t know what they’ve got planned, but I’m sure it’s not good.”

“Do you think Prowl will be punished?”

“I hope not. But he might be. Depends on how much information they divulge.”

Smokescreen let the line run quiet. He tapped the tips of his digits on the edge of the desk.

“They’re dating, right?” he asked. 

“I don’t know. You’d be the one to know.”

“Hm,” Smokescreen hummed. “I’ll talk to you later. Keep me updated.”

* * *

Meister stood at the side of Prowl’s medical berth. His digits landed on the keyboard of the terminal and he typed in a command to bring Prowl out of stasis. His optics flickered to life. 

“Morning,” Meister said. 

Prowl looked around the room. “Where’s Ratchet?” he asked. 

“Not here. I wanted to talk to you.”

Prowl sat up on the medical berth and Meister took a seat on the edge. He would have to make this fast. It was only a matter of time before a nurse realized Prowl was out of stasis. 

“What is it?” 

“I was crawling around in the vents,” Meister said. “Your superiors know I’m here and they know who I am. It doesn’t look good.”

Prowl grabbed Meister’s servo and held it in his own. “I’ll talk to them.”

“No, I don’t think that’ll work,” Meister said. “They seem pretty certain on what they’re going to do to me. It’s best I go.”

“I won’t force you to stay,” Prowl said. His digits tightened. “But is there anything I can do?”

Meister leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the center of Prowl’s chevron. “Wait for me. I’ll be back.”

Prowl nodded. His optics were offline and he waited for Meister to kiss him. He did. 

Meister stood up again and went back to the terminal. He asked Prowl if he should put him back into stasis. He said he should, it would add to the illusion that nothing had occurred when they came to take Meister away. 

He activated the coding and stepped away. Before leaving, he pressed one last kiss to Prowl’s nose and then slipped back into the vents. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 chapters always seems like the perfect number, idk why. anyways, hope u enjoyed. thanks to everyone who's read it!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Did i write a new story before finishing that other one? Yes :) did I just start college again? yes:) does it look like my classes will be hard? yes :) Do I hope you enjoyed this story? yes :)


End file.
